


My Best Brother [Haitus]

by SkelebroLuv (Cari01)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: As If He Wasn't Dead, Brotherly Love, But He's Still There, Dadster, Hide Creator Style on Mobile, I Mean I Guess It's Technically Main Character Death...?, Incorporeal Brother, Interchanging Magic, Invisible Brother, M/M, Romantic Love Later, Soul Bond, Technically Dead, Undertale Work Skin Used, Using Magic to Interact With the Physical World, genetic experiments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-01 00:43:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8600392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cari01/pseuds/SkelebroLuv
Summary: Something happened to him when he was a baby. Others couldn't see him or hear him. They didn't know he was there. Only one person knew. His brother, his dearest and only friend.*Edited Chapter 1, be sure to reread before going on to next chapter. I apologize for the inconvenience and must warn you now, do not be surprised if this happens often. It's embarrassing how often I like to go back and edit things.





	1. Instinct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's gone wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

It was silent and dark. What was this? Feeling... They felt...? They did not know. The thoughts were unrefined, failing to take the most basic of shapes. They could tell that they existed, but they did not know or realize. Not until they saw something in the distance. It was a soft white light that softly beckoned them towards it. They felt compelled to go towards the light and somehow did so, the light completely overtaking their view when they were close enough.

Then the world around them began to brighten softly.

They started to feel more as they began to see and hear. They felt the liquid that they were submerged in surrounding them, the liquid muffling the noises that traveled to their non-existent ears. The first thing they 'saw' was the soft white light again. It was floating somewhere to their left. They felt themselves gravitate towards the light as they had the before, eventually stopping as they hit an invisible barrier. As they started, the light came into clearer focus, revealing the white light to be in the shape of an upside down heart. They stared, entranced, eventually noticing the body containing the light as their vision entirely focused.

The first thing of the world they truly saw was the tiny body floating in a clear tube of liquid next to their own. The small creature was curled in on themselves in a fetal position, their expression lax as if simply asleep.

They didn't know what this thing was. They didn't even know what kind of creature they were. But they were instantly attached to the small upside down heart and the little creature that contained it, feeling an unrelenting need to hold and cherish and protect them. They didn't understand these feelings nor how to act on them, but they knew that they had to do so.

Movement in front of their own container caught their attention, and they turned to look. They saw another creature, this one much larger than the other they had seen, but appearing to be of the same kind, staring in at them in amazement and joy. They heard the other creature excitedly making noises they couldn't decipher, unfamiliar and muffled by the liquid. The large thing then moved back to look at some screen, glancing at the container with the little creature with a look of concern as they continued to glance at the display and then back to the still creature.

They felt themselves become more anxious as the larger creature did so, the feeling being amplified by a sudden loud beeping noise coming from the screen the larger creature looked at that was now flashing red. They didn't know what these things meant, but their instincts said they meant danger. Their instincts also pushed them to get to the smaller creature immediately, so they pressed up against the barrier again, trying in vain to get through. Then they saw something that made their instincts cry out in shock and fear. They saw the small and weak white and blue heart start to crack.

They didn't know what to do. They felt something inside themselves screaming at them as the heart across from them developed more cracks and the larger creature outside panicked, but they didn't know what the screaming thing wanted. So they stopped thinking and let the thing screaming at them take control.

They were acting entirely on instinct now. They stopped trying to get through the invisible barrier and closed their eyes, blocking out all their senses and focusing, looking for something. They felt a pool of energy and magic inside of them, knowing they had found what they were looking for. They focused their magic outwards and towards the now dimly glowing heart in the other tank.

As they continued to pour their energy towards the other being, the light began to grow stronger, though their own started to weaken. They had no measure of how much energy they poured into the other, but when they had finished, the heart is glowing healthily again and missing the cracks that had developed, they felt fragile. They felt their magic fading out, and in a bid to survive, it reached out and latched to the closest living being, which happened to be the one they had just saved. As their magic latched on to the other being, everything returned to black.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They felt themselves awaken, taking their first look at the world. They saw a tall... Thing...? What was that? Hey noticed the liquid around them. What is this? They saw the other empty container with more liquid. What is that? They heard the tall being from before talking. What was it saying?

"Subject 2 has been stabilized. He now appears to be awake and perfectly healthy. However, Subjet 1 seems to have vanished completely..." They didn't understand the words, but they heard the distressed tone and wanted to make it better. So they made little cooing noises trying to get the other's attention. The thing looked up at him and gave a slight, albeit sad, smile. It seemed happy that they were there but upset about something else. 

They saw the being look back at one of the machines and then do a double take, looking back at their container and then back at the computer. It then seemed to start freaking out happily, typing rapidly while speaking its thoughts in a haphazard manner.

"Amazing!!... It seems Subject 1's soul has... This has such potential in soul research... Stars, thank goodness he's alright..."They tilted their head, confused by the babbling, but were happy the thing seemed happy. They curled in on themselves again and happily gurgled, rotating slowly in the liquid. It was when they were facing up towards the ceiling of their container that they saw something that caught their interest.

There seemed to be someone else with them. It looked similar to the one outside the container but smaller, so they assumed the two were the same kind of thing, whatever they were. The one with them was curled up like they were but appeared to be asleep. They noticed with interest that they could slightly see through the other to the ceiling, but when they looked at a part of their own body, they couldn't see through it at all.

They tried to make their way up towards the other, eventually noticing that moving their arms and kicking their legs seemed to do the trick. They got closer to the other and felt a calm, happy feeling come over them. They felt absolutely safe in the presence of this other being. They reached out to touch it. They curiously rubbed its head gently, smiling as the small creature made a soft noise of contentment in its sleep. As the other creature did whatever it did outside of the container, they floated there and continued to pet the other creature until they fell asleep as well, curling up with the other contentedly.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they woke up later, they were out of the liquid and lying in a comfy, warm and soft place. They felt that they were covered with softness as well and looked down at themselves, seeing they were wearing some sort of brightly colored cloth thing on them. They pulled on it for a minute but it was comfy, so they eventually left it alone. Then they remembered their previous companion and looked around in a panic. But they calmed down when they spotted the other nearby, curled up on the pillow and apparently still asleep. They noticed they were also wearing a cloth thing like their own, less vividly colored and transparent like them, though.

They pouted, feeling full of energy and wanting the other to wake up and play with them so they scooted over the best they could and pat them on the head repeatedly, making little noises and trying to wake the other up with them. The other baby grumbled in their sleep, slowly stirring and blearily opening their eyes. The first stopped bopping them and stared entranced into the other's round and groggy sockets.

The small creature woke up dizzily, waking up for the first time since they had used their magic. They let out a little pfft as they got used to being in the open air and they felt a slight headache coming on. Then their eyes focused, and they stared back at the small baby in front of them. Why did they look... Then they remembered seeing the other creature and what happened. They saw the little soul floating in the body looked healthy again and let out a happy squeal, flopping forward and holding on to them like their instincts had been telling them to do before. The other baby cooed happily, waving their arms and giggling.

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Gaster was a busy man. He had work and a social life to balance, and whenever one overtook the other (work usually being the one doing the overtaking), it took him a while to get them back in balance. It was important to uphold this balance because it was in doing so that he was allowed his privacy. He loved his friends dearly, really, but they all tended to worry about him a bit too much.

"Not without reason, I suppose..."  He thought to himself with a frown on his face. He tended to get a little too drawn into his work, as well as a little too crazy with it. Ugh, he'd really done it this time...

He didn't think it'd actually work! His research supported the theory that it would, but it wasn't until he had seen the first little one moving that he'd actually believed it. He was lucky that he'd gotten permission to do this or he'd be in some deep shit trying to explain this one. It probably helped that he already had material available for testing. If he hadn't kept the round bones from his old hand injuries, who knows what he would have had to do to get the proper genetic material. If he'd had to acquire the material elsewhere, he doubted that his request to experiment would have been so readily granted.

But he had failed to really think through the consequences if it had worked. Oh, he'd thought through the breakthroughs it would bring and such but he hadn't considered the personal implications. 

Now he had two babies to take care of. 

Well one, physically. But if Gaster's readings were to be believed, the other was still there, an intangible force attached to his brother's soul. It would be unfair to care for only one when they're both there, even if he can't see or hear the other.

People would probably think he was crazy for taking care of them himself. (Of course, they'll probably already think he's crazy when he starts insisting there's a second child, even with the data to prove it.) But he had been absolutely attached the second he saw the first one wake up. There was no way he would let them go to anybody else. Besides, they wouldn't understand what had happened. They wouldn't believe the other was there and they would neglect him. It broke his heart to think about it. 

But he was worried too. Well more like terrified. He was entirely convinced he'd completely screw this up. He desperately needed a second opinion. Or maybe three. He got an idea and grinned, getting up to grab his boys.

When he got over to the crib he had put the first one in, he was greeted by the most unusual sight. He saw the one baby there who seemed to be grabbing at the air and pulling at it. Then the empty space pulled the other child towards it, the child now appearing to be floating slightly off the mattress while giggling happily. Well if his data didn't say it clear enough, this certainly proved it. There was definitely something there. 

The physical child noticed him and looked up at him, cooing happily moving off of what Gaster assumed to be his brother and moving towards him. The boy seemed to pull the other along if his outstretched arm and hand that clenched around something said anything about it. 

Gaster was curious and pat the space next to the first child, who shortly started freaking out as Gaster's hand went through the empty space and he pulled it away quickly. The first baby stopped freaking out but seemed confused, moving his arm towards the area where the other child presumably was, being unable to move his hand through it like Gaster had so effortlessly had. Well, this confirmed one of his worries. Neither he nor anyone else could interact with the incorporeal child in any way. Nobody that is except for his baby brother.

The child in question was still reeling in confusion. How come the friendly tall thing's hand went through their companion but their own didn't? Why couldn't they seem to hear their friend's noises or see them? As they pondered this, they were picked up, and the thing was carrying them away from their friend. 

They were about to cry out for the other when they noticed that their companion floated along behind them. The other seemingly completely oblivious to their floating or any of their friend's confusion as they looked around curiously, letting the bond pull them around with the two. 

They wondered briefly where they were going before their attention was caught by something else and their short attention span snapped to it. After a while they seemed to lose their focus completely and doze off, still floating along behind the other two as they slept. The first stayed awake, however. Not only did they have too much energy to sleep but they wanted to see where they were going. It wasn't long before they found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short I know, and my first, but what do you, the readers, think? Does it look like it'll be interesting? Comments greatly appreciated and encouraged.
> 
> Edit: I decided to merge the first few chapters I'm making into a longer first chapter. I know I prefer longer chapters and these upcoming events feel like they should all be in one chapter. More edits of this chapter to come soon as I finish them up.


	2. To Be a Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What HAVE I gotten myself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I feel fluttery seeing the support for this fic so early on. I'm gonna make this the best fic I can for you guys. So don't be surprised to see it often being edited along with getting new chapters. As far as I'm concerned, stopping points do exist but while in the journey, I like my work to be in a constant state of development so that it can be the best story it can be.

Gaster came to a set of doors and knocked, a nervous-sounding voice inviting him in. He opened the door and walked in. His youngest lab assistant, Alphys, was standing there with the king, Asgore, and the queen, Toriel.

"Ah, D-D-Dr. Gaster, we were just about to search y-you out. We..."  Alphys trailed off, staring at the baby he was carrying in his arms. "What is that?"

"I believe this is what is known as an infant," Gaster said with a slightly infuriating smirk. The queen and king quietly giggled and chuckled, respectively, while Alphys resisted huffing at her boss, her cheeks reddening in slight mortification.

"Y-you know what I meant! Where on earth d-did you get a baby!?" She managed to stutter out.

"That is actually why I am here," Gaster replied calmly. He looked at all three of the occupants, in turn, having paused for dramatic effect. "The latest project has been a success."

"Y-you mean...?" Alphys stated in shock. Gaster nodded.

"Monster souls can be artificially created and monsters developed from them under the right set of conditions," He replied.

"This is quite the breakthrough you have made, Dr. Gaster, Asgore said to the scientist with a serious look. Then he grinned, unable to keep a serious face. "I believe congratulations are in order, my friend."

"I suppose so, but that can wait until later," Gaster said distractedly. "There are important things to discuss such as..."

"Surely there isn't more w-w-work to be done?" Alphys timidly asked. Gaster paused and shook his head.

"No, this is not work related,"He said, shocking his assistant and the king. They were two of the royal scientist's closest friends, and it was rare to see him concerned with something that wasn't work related. Gaster looked over at the queen, who had been silently staring at the excitedly babbling child in his arms for some time with hidden worry. "Queen Toriel is on the same wavelength as myself I believe." 

The Queen looked up at Gaster when she was addressed and was quite relieved to see he was right. She knew the man loved his work just as much as the other two did and to see him putting the concerns for the child over his work laid many of her worries to rest.

"Yes, I believe we are. However, I do not believe there is any reason to fret. It is quite clear to me already that you'll be an excellent father," Toriel said with a kind smile.

"Gaster's gonna raise him?" Alphys and Asgore asked each other in shock. Gaster's face meanwhile had lit up purple in slight embarrassment and relief.

"Well, that was a part of it yes..." He admitted sheepishly to the goat monster. "But that's not the only thing that worries me. Might I have you all take a look at his soul?" This query grabbed all three monster's attentions immediately.

"His soul? Why, is it alright?" Toriel asked worriedly. Gaster frowned a bit, trying to find a way to voice this.

"Well, you all remember that there were two samples I used, don't you?" Gaster asked.

"W-what h-h-happened to the other one, Dr. Gaster?" Alphys asked worriedly. Gaster shook his head.

"I think it'll be easier to see for yourselves," He replied. "My queen, would you please pull the child's soul out? You have the most experience out of us in dealing with infant souls."

"Alright," Toriel replied, doing her best to calm her distress and try not to assume the worst before gently revealing the child's soul to the room. However, she was shocked when instead of one soul, two approached her, the second coming from somewhere a bit behind Gaster. The two souls were linked together by a string of orange and cyan blue magic that twined intricately together, the orange magic appearing to support the cyan magic.

"Oh, my..." Asgore sounded out. Alphys and Toriel stared in silent shock. All three then looked at the space where the second soul had come from, but they saw nothing there.

"What exactly happened here?" Toriel asked quietly as she returned the soul of the baby Gaster held, causing the other soul to go back to where it belonged as well. She watched it's path carefully, now knowing exactly where the second child in question was... and that he was floating. Lovely. 

Gaster explained the incident to them as best as he could, relating how "Subject 2's" magic had been too weak to support the soul and developing body, causing the soul to begin to collapse. He wasn't quite sure what "Subject 1" did. Just that the result was that with Subject 1's body being forfeit, Subject 2 was given enough magic to survive. It appeared that in return, Subject 2's soul allowed Subject 1's soul to latch on to it so that Subject 1 could remain alive, albeit incorporeal.

"Subject 2, as far as I have seen, is able to see, hear and interact with Subject 1 as if he were an entirely corporeal being. However, he is the only one who is able to so... I'm sure you realize this raises quite a few concerns..." Gaster trailed off as he realized he had been receiving the stink eye from Toriel for quite a while. "Umm.....?"

"You still haven't named them," she asked sternly, incredulous. "Did you plan on calling them subject for their entire lives?"

"What?! No no, that's not...!" Gaster's face was entirely purple as he looked away, seeming thoroughly chastised, and let out a worried huff, calming down enough to focus on his speaking. "I wasn't sure that there wouldn't be a better chance for them with someone else or if they would be allowed to stay with me. I..." Gaster looked somewhat downhearted now. "I didn't want to name them just for them to be taken away from me..." 

Toriel felt a bit guilty about jumping to conclusions. She always did have a bit of a problem with that. She let out a sigh. "No, no, that's reasonable. I apologize for calling you into question like that."

"I must say," Asgore spoke up, trying to dissipate the awkward atmosphere. "This does present quite the predicament. It seems like you have quite the task ahead of you." 

"Yes, I suppose..." Gaster trailed off, shaking a bit. The baby in his arms, who had been happily making noises at the other child while the adults talked, noticed this and looked up at Gaster, seeming to think for a moment before reaching up and patting his cheeks in a supportive manner. Though Gaster didn't know it, the other child had awakened at the silencing of the other and drifted over, settling over Gaster's head and patting it best as he could with his hand going through it. 

Toriel giggled warmly at the children's display, having seen the other soul drift closer to Gaster in his distress. "I do not think you should worry too much, dear. It is already clear that you love them and I am quite certain that they are both attached to you already as well. There will be difficulties of course, and I'm certain raising an incorporeal child will be quite the challenge, but I'm confident that, with time, it will become much easier and you will grow to become an even better person from the experience." 

Gaster looked at Toriel and smiled slightly. "Thank you, your highness. I think I really needed to hear that."

"Umm... Sooo..." Alphys said, glancing to the side. Then she looked back at Gaster excitedly. "What ARE you gonna name them?"

"Hmmm. I really haven't thought of that...." Gaster said, looking down at the baby in his arms, who happily cooed up at him. He then gently focused a bit of his own magic outwards, using it to pinpoint the other soul. Gaster smiled when he felt it above his head, happy that the other baby had drifted closer and seemed comfortable with him. 

He thought back to the first child that had woken up and the appearance he had been born with, wondering briefly he looked like he had before to his brother. "I think..." He looked down at the small child in his arms with a smile. "That I shall call this little one here Papyrus." Then he looked above his head, where the other child looked right back down at him. "And this one shall be called Sans."

Toriel happily pressed her paws together with a smile. Anything involving children always made her particularly joyful. "Those are such lovely names. I also see you are learning already. That is precisely where your first child's soul is at the moment." 

"Glad to see I got it right and didn't embarrass myself," He said with a small rueful smile. "I'm still quite nervous but... I suppose I am as ready as I will ever be."

"Do not forget you have friends who can help you as well," The king said to Gaster with a smile. "My wife and I have learned many things raising our own child. We would be willing to assist you with anything you need."

"A-and I can help provide regular magical checkups and such," Alphys said with a nervous smile. "I also know a couple of friends who are excellent babysitters in case you ever need to take a break."

"Yes, do remember to take a break once in a while," Toriel spoke up. "Raising a child is an important task, but not one that can be done properly if you neglect taking care of yourself." Gaster smiled a bit wider. He felt less frightened about what was to come with the support around him.

"Yes, thank you," He said with a small smile. "I very much appreciate it." He felt a little wriggling in his arms and looked down at Papyrus, seeing him looking about ready to wail.

"Oh, stars..."

"WAHHHHHHH!!!" Papyrus' loud cries startled the other monsters, Alphys hiding underneath her desk at the sudden noise and Asgore cowering while Toriel rolled her eyes at him. Sans was startled as well, instantly waking from the sleep he had been in and floating down towards his brother, curling against him in a vain attempt to comfort his sibling.

"I think he's hungry..." Gaster said, before starting to worry. "And I don't know what to feed him!" The two monarchs were confused, Gaster having spoken in his natural language in his panic. They had slowly been learning to understand their Royal Scientist's strange language over the years but still weren't quite advanced enough to translate his quick rants and panicked ramblings. Alphys, whom like everyone else who worked with Gaster was a pro at it, told them what Gaster was panicking about. Toriel smiled and gently laid a paw on the shorter man's shoulder.

"Do not worry, dear. We can all go right now and fetch what will be needed, starting with food for the young one. I assume that the other shall probably receive his needed magical sustenance through the bond the two share?"

"That is something that will need to be analyzed," Gaster replied once he had calmed down enough to speak understandably again. "Though I have heard of the existence of monster food specifically for incorporeal monsters so..."

"Ooh," Alphys spoke up. "I know that there's a ghost family that lives in Waterfall. They keep a farm there. They would probably have information on foods Sans can eat once he's old enough to have regular monster food."

"Hmm, that would be quite helpful..."

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Papyrus' crying broke through their thoughts again as he let out a particularly loud wail. 

"Um... let us take care of this little one first, shall we?" Asgore asked the others quickly agreeing and making their ways out of the lab. Gaster paid the strange looks the group got as they left the labs no mind. He was still nervous about raising the two children, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't also looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we now know for sure who is who and which skelle gave their life for the other. I must admit, I had considered putting Papyrus in San's role at first, but then I thought to myself. 'What if Sans had been the stronger one in the beginning, and the reason he had such low stats was because his brother was born weak and he gave that strength up to keep his baby brother alive, strengthing Papyrus up and in the process weakening himself. But the transfer process of the magic ends up giving Sans some unique abilities that Papyrus simply lacks, developed by his remaining magic for self-preservation since he'd now lack the proper power to fight back.
> 
> Anyway, rambling done. This ends the boy's birthday. Next time we see them, they'll be somewhat older and on their way to developing into healthy skele toddlers. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, comments are encouraged. I love hearing what you guys think.


	3. A Magical Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've developed better than I thought they would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S FINALLY DONE! This chapter... It ended up being over 10k long! So I'm splitting it in half and I'm gonna do the formatting later. As it is formatted and minorly edited, it will be updated. Also, this and the second part of the chapter goes a lot into how the babies are developing and how their bond and magic works. So sorry if it seems a bit dry. Once that's all out of the way, we can finally get into the emotional and more entertaining side of the babybone's childhood.

Parenthood. What's it like? Were one to ask Gaster that question, he would have to say that it is... Quite a unique experience. As well as fascinating. It was quite amazing to see his two little babybones developing so quickly in their own unique ways. Papyrus was developing his motor skills at an impressive rate. It had been two months and already the child was showing development in motor skills more commonly seen at seven and eight months. He was an active baby, already liking to scoot everywhere and grab at everything. He had already stolen Gaster's glasses right off his face more times than he could count. In comparison, his cognitive and social skills seemed to be developing slower. But they were simply growing at a reasonable rate, which seemed slow compared to the speed of his physical development. In comparison, repeated scans showed that San's lack of physicality was causing his soul to accelerate the development of his social, cognitive, and magical abilities, rather than any physical ones. After all the only thing he could touch was his brother and being bound to Papyrus, Sans could never drift too far from him. So there was no need to develop the same level of motor skills as him. Especially seeing as Sans could float everywhere. What was fascinating about Sans, however, was seeing how he naturally developed his magic in a way that allowed him to interact with the world and communicate with others, even though the magic itself wouldn't be powerful enough to inflict more than one hp of damage. 

Gaster sat at his desk(Even now he really couldn't just leave work. He was THE royal scientist after all. He had duties!), pondering the interesting patterns of development he saw in his children. He adored his little children and hoped he was doing right by them. But he had to admit he was still out of his depth and with Sans' magic and his control over it growing so exponentially, it was quite tough at times.   
As he heard the approach of giggling and the huff a monster who was out of control of the situation but not too worried, he knew he was due to see another one of his son's new tricks. He turned towards the door but didn't exactly expect what he saw. He saw one of the babysitter's Alphys had recommended him, a young fire monster from Snowdin. He remembered Grillby was the boy's name. He was holding little Papyrus in his arms, who was happily cooing and rapidly waving his arms around. What had shocked him was that both Grillby and Papyrus were floating, surrounded by an outline of cyan magic. Grillby seemed a bit miffed but was more amused, used to Papyrus' invisible brother's magic by now. "He really is quite impressive, Dr. Gaster sir," Grillby said politely. His voice was soft yet high pitched and childish, his voice magic having not matured yet. "I believe Sans' simply could not wait to show you his new trick."

"Did he take you both all the way here?" Gaster asked with an impressed tone in his voice and Grillby nodded. He would have to try and convince Sans from leaving the house randomly later, but as of right now he was just a bit too impressed with his son's grasp on magic. "That is quite impressive." Sometimes he swore Sans understood every word that was said as he saw the magic gently let go of the two at the door and approach him instead, wrapping around his soul and expressing Sans' feelings of happiness rather than lifting him, as if thanking him for the compliment.   
"This little one," Grillby lifted Papyrus a bit, whom of course had a hold of Grillby's glasses in his hands. "He is quite impressive as well. I will never understand how he is able to get about everywhere so easily already." Papyrus himself was squirming a bit, wanting to be put down. Once Grillby set him down on the ground, he attempted to get on his hands and knees a couple of times, flopping down each time. All three occupants of the room watched him carefully, Gaster feeling slightly astonished. Was Papyrus attempting to crawl already? 

After a few more attempts, cyan magic surrounded Papyrus and lifted him a bit. However, instead of floating Papyrus over to Gaster, it simply set Papyrus down on his hands and knees, helping him until he was able to balance by himself. The baby attempted to move forward. It took a bit, but soon, Papyrus was shakily crawling towards the desk where Gaster was. The two older monsters in the room watched on in stunned silence while Sans, who was floating behind Gaster, was babbling happily, edging Papyrus on. Eventually, Gaster snapped out of his stupor and sat down on the ground, encouraging Papyrus forward and Papyrus' crawling steadied. He flopped down once or twice but was able to get back up on his own and start crawling again. It seemed that now that he had his balance, nothing was going to stop him. Papyrus made it to Gaster finally, flopping into his hands, happy but tired and hungry as both Gaster and Grillby praised him and Sans happily babbled at him. He let out a little, discontented sound towards Sans, who understood the look on his little brother's face after seeing it on him enough. Grillby looked down at the baby bag he carried curiously when a cyan lined bottle of milk floated out and towards Gaster, who hadn't noticed it. Grillby chuckled.

"Dr. Gaster sir, I think Papyrus is hungry," He said. Gaster looked up and noticed the bottle slowly waving in front of his face, surrounded by San's magic. Then he looked down at Papyrus, who was cooing and lifting his tiny arms up towards the bottle of formula eagerly. Gaster chuckled himself and took the bottle in front of him, Sans letting it go as Gaster started feeding his little brother. Sans looked up and drifted over towards the door curiously when he heard footsteps heading towards it. Grillby looked up from the floor when he saw the King and Queen approach the door along with another young monster, the Queen holding their own 5-month-old child, Asriel. Grillby recognized the young monster girl. She sometimes helped him with Gaster's kids when they were too much for one monster to handle. She must also babysit the royal child sometimes as well. It made sense. She was from Hotland, which was very close to the capital and New Home. 

"Hello, Muffet," Grillby greeted the spider girl politely, who happily waved back. He then looked to the king and queen, bowing respectfully. "Good day, your highnesses."

"Hello, my child," Toriel said warmly, looking at Gaster, an amused light entering her eyes. "I see our scientist has his hands full at the moment." Asgore looked at Grillby and smiled warmly. 

"You are the one watching the young skeletons today, are you not? We've heard nothing but good things about you from Gaster." He said. Then he laughed happily. "Though I must admit, I've heard nothing but good things from him about all of the babysitters he hires. Apparently, he keeps hitting child care gold with all of you young ones." Both Muffet and Grillby's faces lit up at the praise, voicing a 'thank you, sir' at the same time. Muffet's attention was taken, however, by the magic slowly wrapping around her soul in greeting and the soft blue outline of a baby floating in front of her forming as the magic temporarily linked with her own. She was admittedly still impressed by this young one's solutions to his lack of a physical body, finding a way to connect and interact with other monsters in spite of it. She giggled a bit. She really did adore little children.

"Hello dearie," She said to Sans, gently tapping right above where his nose would be. She was shocked as she felt her finger touch something solid, like a forcefield. Sans seemed surprised too, as the little outline jumped and the connection filled with joy from his end. Enough that Papyrus looked up towards them curiously. This caught Gaster's attention, and he looked towards where Papyrus was looking, noticing the three new visitors for the first time. 

"Oh, hello your highnesses, Muffet." He said, setting the now empty bottle aside and proceeding to gently burp Papyrus, laying him back in his lap when he had done so, holding the baby in his lap with his arms. Then he looked at Muffet who was still grinning with delight. "Now what has gotten you so excited, young miss?”

"I think dear little Sans has learned another new trick," She said, gently coaxing little Sans to how his daddy what he just did. Gaster, figuring that he'd be lifted because she didn't know about that trick, was surprised when Sans did just as he had with Muffet, the little outline reaching out to him and patting him right above where his own nose would be. Gaster was stunned when he realized something. Not only could he somewhat 'see' his baby boy, but the child had actually touched him, and he had felt it. His eyes lit up with joy, just as they had when Papyrus had crawled to him.   
"Oh stars, I can actually see you!" Gaster then moved his free hand up and gently pat the young baby skeleton, who giggled. "And touch you!" He laughed and brought both Papyrus and Sans into his arms, cuddling the babies to his chest lovingly. "What an astounding development!"  
"Oh? The child's magic had developed further?" Toriel asked as Asriel started fussing in her hands, Torriel cuddling her small son, who calmed down as he was cuddled.

"Much more since your last visit," Gaster replied with amusement. Asgore laughed at that.   
"But we visited these young ones just last week," Asgore said with a grin. "I have a feeling your boys are destined to have a significant role in our future, Gaster." Gaster looked up at him. 

"You think so?" Gaster asked curiously, looking back down at his babies. Sans appeared to have fallen asleep against Papyrus, but Papyrus seemed to be acting like a conduct to keep Sans' magic going. He seemed pretty content with it, simply patting his little brother on the head as he slept. "Nothing too dangerous I hope. With how often Sans needs to rest, I wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep in the middle of a confrontation."   
"Well the future is something we can worry about when it comes," Toriel stated with a sort of finality. "We actually came here to ask if you and your boys wanted to come to dinner with us." She looked to Grillby and smiled kindly. "You are also invited along, my child, if you would like to come."  
"W-well, I wouldn't want to be a bother," Grillby said, stuttering in a rare moment of self-consciousness.  
"Oh it is no bother at all, we assure you," Asgore said with a smile.

"We are actually hoping to get to know all of you young monsters who babysit these boys at one point," Toriel said with a kind, motherly smile. "It is quite impressive that you all fare so well, watching over such quickly developing infants." After Muffet finally convinced Grillby to join them, the group of monsters made their way out, Gaster able to carry both of his sons for the very first time.

* * * * * * * *

"Sans get back here!!!" Muffet yelled as she chased the flying baby through the house. As she ran forward, she ran into another young monster who was also chasing the child.

"Ah, fuck!" The orange cat monster yelled out in surprise as he collapsed on the ground.

"Henry! Language!" A blue rabbit monster admonished him as he slid down the stair banister in an attempt to catch Sans as he passed. He missed and flew into the wall instead. Grillby ended by tripping over him as he chased the baby. 

"Sorry Charles," Grillby said in a muffled voice after tripping over the rabbit. Now the only one left trailing Sans was a pink ghost. 

"Oh, come on guys, are you serious," Hapstablook asked the others exasperatedly. Then he sighed. "Stars, this is a train wreck."

"How can one baby cause so much trouble?" Grillby asked incredulously. "Papyrus and Napstablook are behaving just fine." The group of monsters looked to the two small monsters in the living room, the baby skeleton and young ghost sitting peacefully and playing in the midst of Sans' absolute chaos.

"I feel like he might be trying to play with us," Muffet said with an amused pout.

"You've got a point," Henry said. "The kiddo wouldn't make it so we could touch him if he didn't want to be caught."

"This is probably just a game of tag to him," Charles agreed. "But then what do we do? Gaster was quite clear that we need to have them at the lab in half an hour. If we can't catch the kid."

"Well, we just have to keep trying," Hapstablook said while still chasing Sans, who he was about to catch when he suddenly vanished. "Gah!? Where'd he go!?" The five older monsters were all silent for a second before they all started panicking and running around, checking everywhere and calling San's name. Papyrus started giggling at the noise while Napstablook whimpered. It took a few minutes before anyone found Sans, having teleported behind his brother and hidden out of sight behind him.

"There you are, kiddo," Henry said triumphantly, picking up Sans who happily giggled. Sans' temporary links with the others broke as Sans, exhausted from using so much magic, was only able to keep the link to Henry open. He fell asleep, and Papyrus started cooing, wanting to be picked up and placed next to his brother. Charles picked the small skeleton up and placed him in Henry's arms as well as the others got ready to get going.  
"Well. Looks like you won today's round," Charles said to Henry with a laugh.

"Gaster's gonna be thrilled to hear that Sans can teleport now," Muffet said amused as she walked back in the room with one of the diaper bags. "I love the kid too, but I don't know how Sans has not given that man a heart attack yet. I feel like he's given me at least five." Hapstablook chuckled at that.  
"You and me both darling," He replied, holding his younger cousin's hand. He smiled a bit and stole a glance at the babies in Henry's arms. "Though I think we all agree that it's quite the experience. I think I enjoy it."

"Agreed," Grillby said as he returned with the second baby bag. "That's everything?" The others nodded. "Alright. Let's get going before we're late." The kids rushed out into Hotland and closed the door behind them, not noticing that the mess that had been made when they were chasing Sans had apparently cleaned itself, a final wisp of vivid orange magic vanishing from the clean area.

 

OoOoOo

 

"Ah, there you are. I trust the children were not much trouble," Gaster asked the tired looking monsters who came in with his infants.  
"No more than usual," Charles said brightly. He always was the most positive one of the group.

"Papyrus was an absolute angel as usual," Hapstablook said, cooing at the small baby who cooed back.

"And as usual, Sans was just a real treat," Henry said, raising an eyebrow at the other child sleeping in his arms. "Seems he learned a new trick."

"Oh?" Gaster asked, shocked as the many things Sans kept finding to do with his magic.

"Yes. He can teleport now." Grillby said calmly. Gaster was silent for a second.

"He can do WHAT!?" He asked. Contrary to what the kids thought he'd be, which was terrified, Gaster, in fact, looked excited. Though that bit of paternal worry was still there of course. "Oh, my STARS!!! That's...!!"

"Astounding," The group of kids finished for him, amused. They had heard it often enough that they knew what he would say every time. Gaster chuckled.

"Yes, well please, come this way," Gaster said, leading the children deeper into the lab.

"Is there any particular reason you asked to have all of us here today sir?" Muffet asked politely. "It is not often that you call all five of us in at the same time to watch over the two dearies. In fact, I do not recall you ever doing so."

"Well, as you all know, today marks the fourth month after Papyrus and Sans' births," Gaster said to them as they walked. "So today, the boys need to have their monthly checkup. However, today is also the day when they will have their stats checked for the first time. Parents... Well, it is the typical procedure that they are not privy to the child's stats until they have been pulled and any anomaly's checked to ensure that the child is healthy to prevent any panic from the parent in the case of abnormally low or high stats. I am no exception to this rule, of course, and my colleagues and I have agreed that this is for the best."

"So what's the issue, doc," Henry asked, slightly shifting his hold on Papyrus as the baby started squirming. "Why call all five of us in?"

"All five of you have relevant information pertaining to both of the babies magical abilities, just like I do," Gaster replies."However, each of you has had different experiences with it. It is likely some of you know about magical abilities the two have that the others and even myself do not. So it's been agreed that collectively, all five of you together have the most comprehensive experience with the two children's magic, which is information they will need for the tests."

"So that's why other family members are often asked in, but not the parents?" Grillby asked curiously.

"Exactly," Gaster replied as they walked up to the door. "Alphys is already inside working with some of the senior scientists to get things ready. You can head over to her, and she'll get you and the babies settled." He then left to go elsewhere. Probably either to fret about what the results would be or celebrate the fact that his son has teleporting powers. Maybe both.

 

OoOoOo

 

Gaster was getting quite nervous at this point. It had been a few hours. He had initially gone to visit the King and Queen to inform them about the new development with Sans. But now he was glad he had visited because he was shaking like a leaf and the two parent's support and reassurances were appreciated.

"I am sure it is quite alright," Asgore said to him. "Your team is probably taking extra care due to your children's... unique origins and magical development."

"Asgore has a point," Toriel says, softly rocking her currently happy 7-month-old baby. "They are probably seeing some very new and unique patterns of magic in your children. Particularly in Sans due to his unique dependence on it. I am certain it is nothing to worry about or they would have contacted you by now." Gaster breathed out, trying to lessen his shaking.

"Yes, yes, you're probably right..." Gaster was cut off as his cell phone rang and he scrambled for it. "H-hello!?"

"Ummm.... H-hi Gaster. You... You may want to get over here," Gaster heard Alphys say. He felt his soul go cold in fear and drop down to his non-existent stomach. Then he felt the panic begin to set in as he pondered the many things that may have gone wrong.

"Wh-what? Are my babies okay? Is there anything wrong with them? Oh, dear stars, what the hell have I done...!"

"G-Gaster! Calm down!" Alphys replied. "It's true that t-the results are quite... Unusual and may seem alarming at first glance. But we have l-looked into it, and the children seem completely fine. They both appear to be t-thriving developmentally. It's more about your babies' unique soul bond and magical patterns..." A loud crash came from behind her through the phone. "Just g-get over here! It'll be easier to see. I've got to take care of this. No! Sans, stop trashing the lab, Papyrus is right in the next room!" The phone cut off then, Gaster silent for a few seconds. Enough for the monarchs to be concerned for him.

"Um... Are things... Okay?" Toriel asked nervously. "Are the children..."

"Oh, Alphys says they're perfectly healthy and are even thriving. She just has some things to show me with their magical patterns and Sans is trashing the lab..." The monarchs and Gaster remain silent, his very last sentence sinking in.

"OH SHIT! Sans is trashing the lab!!!" Gaster yelled in a panic before zipping out of there. The King and Queen look at each other.

"Should we be concerned?" Toriel asked him.

"Nah, I'm sure it'll all be fine," Asgore said, trying to look on the positive side. "Our friend's babies are happy and healthy. It's a reason to celebrate."

OoOoOo

The amount of messiness was ridiculous. Nothing important was broken, destroyed, or even damaged, which was quite impressive. But the place was still an absolute wreck and filled with panicking scientists. Over half of them not even knowing where the magical surge that caused this came from.

"Oh, stars..." Gaster muttered to himself, his hand against his forehead in exasperation. He eventually just took it in stride and walked through, completely unsuspiciously. Nobody who didn't already know, needed to know his invisible infant son with strange magical abilities beyond the norm had caused this mess. He went through to where Alphys was and found her and Charles fretting around the room while Henry attempted to soothe the assumingly crying Sans. It seemed the boy had won and was currently the only person, other than Papyrus, that Sans wanted to interact with for the rest of the day. Alphys spotted him and ran up to him nervously.

"O-oh, thank goodness you're here!" She exclaimed. "This happened the second we tried to separate the boys into two different rooms for individual scans."

"Individual scans?" Gaster asked.

"Yep. Apparently, your children's souls are bonded so tightly that it's impossible to get an accurate reading on them when they're in the same room," Henry answered him.

"Exactly. Sans and Papyrus' magic supplements the other's magic perfectly, giving both of their magic strength when they're together," Alphys said. 

"And apparently they're stats are the same. Whenever we tried to pull their stats, only one set appeared, and the numbers were ridiculously high for adult monsters, let alone babies. We also could not get a scan of how their magic was developing independently of the other's while they were together. So we tried to move them into separate rooms for testing."

"The kiddo absolutely freaked out, doc," Henry said, causing Gaster to look at him. He noted that the cat monster child seemed quite shaken. He also noticed a genuine care and worry for kid children and he was instantly reminded again why he was willing to trust these kids with such important tasks that seemed more appropriate for adults to handle, and why he would only trust Alphys to perform the tests on his invisible child. Monster children didn't judge.

"What appeared to set it off?" Gaster asked with a slightly worried frown.

"Well, if I were to put it into words, he seems afraid to be at a far enough point from Papyrus where their magic no longer strengthens each other," Henry said with a frown. "He wasn't upset that Papyrus had left the room, though he did start getting fussy. It was only when Muffet and Grillbz reached a certain point of the hallway that he really began to throw a fit."

"I-It was quite something," Alphys said. "It was like S-Sans had suddenly lost hold of the magic he had, and it spread out in one uncontrolled burst."

"That happened right when the kid started crying," Henry supplied, still rocking Sans. "It didn't happen again, either. The kiddo hasn't shown any sign of magic except his continued connection to me since then."

"Hmm..." Gaster sounded out. "That is strange. The chaos I saw out there, while indeed quite messy, couldn't have been the result of anything short of a really controlled burst of magic. After all, absolutely none of the machinery or critical articles experiments were even damaged."

"R-really?" Alphys asked in shock. "Even then Sans was trying to be careful... Wow..."

"That still doesn't tell us why the kiddo's so frightened," Henry said with a frown. "How about we just see if his individual stats and magic can tell us anything?"

"O-oh! Right!" Alphys exclaimed. "Ummm... Well, there's really no point in enforcing the rule any longer... S-since you're already here, Gaster. Y-You can stay here, or you can go see how far they've gotten with Papyrus..." Gaster looked over at Henry who was cooing gently at Sans and holding him close, probably trying to make the baby feel safe. If Sans needed him here at the moment, he would've let him know by now. Sans would probably actually appreciate it more, then, if he went to check on his brother.

"I believe I shall go check on Papyrus. Sans is still linked to Henry here, so I assume that means he feels quite comfortable with him at the moment." Gaster replied. He went over and said goodbye to Henry and his child, cooing at the small baby before moving on to the other room. If he were perfectly honest about his choice, he was somewhat afraid to learn about Sans' individual stats. He would rather learn Papyrus' first so he could feel at peace that at least one brother could protect the other. He walked into the room to see another scientist in the middle of the scans while the other four children and the one toddler sat nervously. His little Papyrus sat on the table, glancing around nervously. He was probably looking for Sans.

"Ah, Dr. Gaster," The Scientist said to him. "Good timing. Would you like to see your son's base stats now?" Gaster noded.

"Alright," He replied. He had to admit he was pleased when they came up. They were quite high for even a child let alone an infant. 12 DEF, 10 ATK, 50 HP. Not the strongest but ridiculously high for starting stats. He felt himself relaxing. Even if Sans had lower stats, Papyrus would be more than capable of protecting them both by the time they were school aged. He glanced curiously at the scans of Papyrus' magic and was surprised at how utterly strong the waves looked.

"Ah yes, your son has unusually high levels of magic for a regular monster Dr, Gaster," the scientist said. "Though it seems to go mostly into supplementing and supporting your other son's magic usage."

"Hmm... That may explain that wave of magic earlier. He actually did lose control..." Gaster muttered to himself.

"Umm... Dr. Gaster sir?" Gaster turned to Grillby, who had spoken up. "Did you see Sans?"

"Is the poor dear alright?"Muffet asked worriedly.

"Oh, I do hope he isn't hurt. That previous wave of magic seemed quite destructive and powerful," Hapstablook added. Gaster smiled at their concern for his children.

"He was alright," Gaster replied. "Just afraid it seems."

"Now why would that be?" Grillby asked, to which Gaster shrugged.

"I am not sure. Alphys is checking Sans' stats and magic now. She thinks the answer may be in the data..." There was a knock on the door and Alphys poked her head in.

"Um, Dr. Gaster?" She said, seeming not fearful but concerned. "I t-think you need to see this." Gaster frowned a bit, walking over to Papyrus and hugging him goodbye. He handed him to Grillby, wanting to keep the baby in someone's arms since he seemed stressed by his brother's absence. He quickly followed after Alphys and stalled slightly at the amount of activity going on in the room. Despite the mess from earlier, the large group of scientists worked effortlessly around the clutter in a calm but quick manner.

"Um...." Gaster sounded out, not sure where to go and what to do. Alphys just grabbed his arm and led him over to the central exam table and left him there as she went to fetch something in the bustling room. Henry was sitting on the edge of the table and softly singing to the baby in his arms with a slight grin, seeming completely unaware of the activity going on around him. "Hello again, Henry."

"Oh, hey doc," Henry replied, looking up at him. "They must've found something important. She takes one reading, then all of the sudden she's calling in enough scientists to fill the room."

"Aha! Here we are," Alphys says, breaking back through the crowd to the other two, carrying multiple pages of raw data. She handed it to Gaster, knowing he'd understand what the data meant. As Gaster read it, his eye lights dimmed in worry but also held a spark of interest. It was worrying but workable. It was when he got to the child's stats that he stopped cold. Even for babies, this was…

"What is it, doc?" Henry asked, having seen the other's face become progressively more worried, causing him to become concerned.

"Well, there are certain nuances in his magical data. His magic on its own is severely weak, but the data shows it should grow stronger or at least continue to develop in a way that will make it an effective tool if he remains near Papyrus," Gaster said with a slight frown. "He won't grow to be physically large, perhaps about 5'0 in height at the most I'd say. At least according to this. These are after all just predictions." He looked over the papers again with a frown, "No, what worries me is his stats. 1 HP, 1 ATK, and 1 DEF."

"Aren't those normal levels for a baby," Henry asked in confusion.

"Yes, but according to these reports..." Gaster said, his frown deepening in worry. "No matter what kind of training he does in the future or how much his magic grows, his stats will never go any higher. These stats are permanent."

"Well, that explains it then," Henry said.

"Explains what?" Gaster asked curiously.

"W-well," Alphys said. "Your five babysitters and I have been wondering why the magic Sans was developing was all passive magic. You know, magic that can't inflict a lot of damage. Papyrus' magic has been developing into more active magic. His magic is stronger and could be potentially shaped into unyielding attacks."

"But if you think about it," Henry continued. "Not all of Sans' magic is the usual kind of passive magic, which would be utterly useless in battle. He can't give a lot of damage, but he could easily escape any confrontation or incapacitate an enemy with his powers. Think about it. Teleportation. Gravity magic. Floating. It's magic based on fleeing and disabling, meant for defense and protection rather than offense."

"Hmmm... I suppose..." Gaster replied, still worried about his son's future.

"Look, if it's his safety you're worried about, then you can simply encourage a building up of endurance and teach him evasion and dodging as he grows," Henry said, trying to put Gaster's mind at ease. "It would probably be the most valuable thing he'd ever learn." Gaster relaxed somewhat, realizing the logic in that.

"Yes. Yes, you're right. It's not something that can't be worked around..." Gaster said to himself," Gaster said. He was still fretting, but then he felt a weak tendril of magic wash over his soul and link with it. He looked up and was able to see Sans starting to squirm in Henry's arms. Henry chuckled, holding the baby out him.

"I think he wants you, Doc," He said, handing him the baby with a grin. Sans calmed down a bit when placed in his father's arms and snuggled into Gaster's chest, the baby's bones rattling slightly.

"He's been shaking since he and Paps were separated," Henry said with a frown. "I keep trying to ask when we can put them back in the same room, but nobody will answer me."

"Well, I think it should be fine now," Alphys said. "I don't really know, but we have all the data we need here, and Papyrus' scan started earlier than ours so they should already have everything..." Gaster nodded.

"It had looked like they were finishing up just as I walked in before," Gaster replied, looking back down at his baby boy with a worried frown. No wonder the poor thing was so scared. Without Papyrus around, he was even more vulnerable than the average monster baby, and he was sure Sans' instincts were very vehement about this fact. He walked out of the room with Alphys and Henry behind him, wanting to reunite his boys as quickly as possible so Sans could rest easy and Papyrus wouldn't seem so stressed. What nobody was expecting was the immediate effect bringing Sans back into the room had on the two babies. The moment Gaster walked in with Sand, Papyrus perked up and looked around rapidly. When he actually spotted Sans in Gaster's arms, he actually grinned.

“SANS!!!” Papyrus cried out happily, to the shock of the room's other occupants. Then they were shocked again as another young voice came out of seemingly nowhere. 

“Paps!” It exclaimed, quieter than the other voice and just touch deeper. Gaster then saw Sans practically rocket his way over to where his brother was in Grillby’s arms, his collision with Papyrus pushing both the baby and Grillby's back, getting an 'oof’ out of the boy and a laugh out of Papyrus. 

“W-were those their first words?” Alphys asked in shock.

“We were actually able to hear Sans?” Hapstablook asked, just as shocked.

“Their first words were each other's names…” Gaster said. He remained silent for a minute before he broke out into a wide grin. “That is precious!!”

“Really? You aren't even the slightest bit upset that their first words weren't addressing you?” Muffet asked him curiously. Gaster shook his head.

“Not at all,” Gaster said, absolutely joyful. “That they are talking already is amazing!” Then he looked confused. “Although I must ask. I do not know much about monster physiology. Do you think he is producing his voice the same way you do, young Grillby?”

“I believe so sir,” Grillby replied. “My parents have told me that I ‘spoke’ in a similar manner to that when I was little. Though monsters like Sans and I who use our magic to vocalize often learn to speak more quickly than monsters who vocalize physically. They also tend to lack the lisps and mispronunciations common in monsters learning to speak.”

“So he'll do most of the learning on his own?” Gaster asked.

“Yes,” Grillby replied. He'll learn by simply listening to others speak. He'll learn to pronounce things in the way the people he hears speak the most do. Though sometimes his magic will create pronunciation differences of its own as well and will change as his magic and personality develop. Magical voices often tend to reflect the monster's personality, rather than where they grew up or who they grew up with.”

“Oh, I see. So I should focus teaching efforts on Papyrus and let Sans learn by observation then?” Gaster asked.

“T-that sounds like the best plan” Alphys spoke up. “It's a-always best to let magical attributes develop on their o-own, rather than to push their development one way or t-the other.” Gaster nodded and let out a sigh. He seemed more relaxed, just like his children did.

“It is quite nice to have friends who are so helpful and knowledgeable on such matters. Thank you,” Gaster said, addressing all six of the younger monsters, who seemed shocked.

“You consider us friends? As in on equal footing?” Hapstablook asked in surprise.

“But we're like half your age, Dr. Gaster,” Charles said, confused. 

“I do not really believe that it is age that makes a monster worthy of respect,” Gaster replied, glancing around to ensure none of his senior staff or other scientists were around, making sure that the one who was there earlier also left. 

“There are reasons I trust all of you with things many others believe should only be trusted to adults. To be honest, there are quite a few of my adult staff with my children or even the simplest of chores. They may be smart, but they lack certain... qualities. They are the kinds of people who should not be left alone with any children let alone my own. They'd only view them as experiments.”

“Oh…” The room trailed off into silence, except for the babbling of Papyrus, the older occupants soaking in just what that sentence implied.

“No wonder y-you wanted me i-in charge of their health exams,” Alphys muttered.

“And it's no wonder you wanted all of us here today as well,” Muffet said with a frown. “It's harder to get away with anything when so many people who are affiliated with your boss are watching.”

“Exactly,” Gaster said. “Though the information you had was also important, I must admit it put me at ease knowing you were here with them.”

"Heh, well thanks for trustin' us, Doc," Henry said with a small grin, the others agreeing and voicing their thanks at him, Gaster's face going purple and moving to hide in his turtle neck.

"Yes, well..." Gaster mumbled out at the kids laughed at his flustered expression. "I think that we've all had enough excitement for one day. It's about time the boys and I head home." He walked over to Grillby and was handed his two happily cuddling children, smiling gently at the two babies in his arms. He said goodbye to the others and made his way out of the lab. Though as they walked through the mess of a lab, Papyrus looked a bit annoyed at the surroundings, shooting a look at Sans, who seemed completely content in the mess. Papyrus huffed and Gaster stopped in shock as a stream of vivid orange magic ran through the place. As the magic drifted through, it seemed to clean every area it touched. Once the magic had vanished, Papyrus seemed pleased, and Gaster was flabbergasted.

"Well, I suppose that's one way to take care of the mess..." Gaster muttered as Papyrus babbled happily, Sans' name occasionally slipping into his babbling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took so long to get this out! I was dealing with a bad case of writer's block and apathy. But It is finished now and I have gotten over the roadblock that has been 2016. Speaking of which, happy almost new years everybody. 2016 is almost behind all of us!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the continuation of the last chapter. The same note from the chapter before applies.

"How can someone who likes things so clean be such a messy eater?" Gaster asked with amusement as he tried to feed Papyrus. Papyrus just happily laughed, flinging around the baby food currently on his hands. He heard Sans let out an irritated whine as the thrown food flew through him. "Sorry about that Sans," Gaster said with a slight smile.

"S'fine," Sans muttered. Gaster chuckled.

"Are you feeling hungry as well?" He asked the young boy, glancing over to him and seeing the blue outline that represented his other son.

"Nah," Sans replied. 

"You know, we do have enough food for both you and Papyrus," Gaster said, concerned about how little Sans seemed to like eating. "You don't need to worry about Papyrus not getting enough."

"Nah..."

"SANS!" Papyrus called out, flinging a spoon of food at him. "FOOD!" Sans was silent for a second.

"Ok," Sans said simply. Gaster chuckled a bit as well and went to get Sans some food while Papyrus started actually eating his food. "Pap, why?" Papyrus frowned, glaring at his brother.

"FOOD," he replied simply.

"But..."

"SANS. FOOD."

"Fine." Papyrus cheered after winning and continued to eat. Sans rolled his eye lights with a pout. He couldn't deny his brother anything,. Not like he really minded it, though. He noticed Gaster come back with some translucent food. How his father got food he could eat, Sans didn't know. But he really did appreciate it, even if he didn't enjoy eating much. Gaster sat down the food and Sans floated down to it, Sans starting to eat as well.

"SANS!" Papyrus called out happily when he'd finished making an absolute mess of the area.

"Pap?" Sans asked him as he finished off his food.

"PLAY!" Papyrus replied happily. 

"Nah, mess," Sans replied.

"AWW!" Papyrus replied with a pout. His magic swept through the entire area, cleaning the entire kitchen. He then reached his arms towards Sans. "PLAY!" Sans looked over towards Gaster to see what he'd say.

"It's quite alright Sans," Gaster replied with a smile, picking up Sans' bowl. Sans grinned and picked his now babbling brother up with magic, floating out of the room and pulling a happy Papyrus along with him. Gaster let out a little pfft and started to clean the dishes, thinking about the data he had gotten from the boy's eight-month tests that afternoon. He let out a worried sigh. The monthly testing was putting stress on him and his boys but it was vital. The babies were developing so differently to normal child monsters that a lot of the data gathered often stumped him and the rest of his team. 

The patterns they were seeing were so strange. A portion of the magic appeared to be going towards Papyrus' development while a majority of it went towards sustaining Sans and his existence. However, despite that, both boys were developing at a quick rate. They were at least a month ahead of their age in development, if not two months. Sans could already speak quite a few words himself, as could Papyrus. Though Sans tended to speak more words and more often than the other. 

Alphys had hypothesized that, in Sans, because his magic had no physical body to contribute to, it was able to contribute more to the formation of better motor skills and mental abilities. She said that was probably the reason for Sans' increased rate of development. But it didn't explain why Papyrus always seemed to be not too far behind Sans, even though most of their shared magic wasn't going towards developing him. The soul magic surrounding the two boys and their bond was a complete mystery. It was something that had never been seen throughout monster history. Or at least not in recent monster history. 

There was nothing in their data about it, but they hadn't been recording data forever. It was quite possible something like this had happened before or during the war, a time from which this kind of data was quite scarce. Gaster let out a sigh as he finished the dishes, peeking out into the living room and watching his boys play. 

The scientist in him was excited at this prospect of a new phenomenon. He was eager to explore and research it. But that excitement and joy were dimmed by the fact that his children, whom he already absolutely adored, were the subjects of this unknown. He had only wanted to see if the development of life was possible outside of the monster body. The last thing he had wanted was for the children to become ongoing subjects of study.  
He had expected it to be a yes or no check and then the project could be closed, the resulting monsters from it free to live and grow as they chose, completely apart from the scientific community if they wanted to. But with things the way they were now, he feared that his two boys were becoming the focus of that group, and not in a good way. He only had a few people within that building he knew he could trust to not consider the two as experiments or overstep the boundaries he had set before the project had even begun. 

He wondered to himself if perhaps they should move further away from Hotland and the laboratory. Waterfall would be a nice place. Right in the middle temperature wise. Though probably wetter than they'd ever become used to. He shook his head. It would be rash for him to move his still developing baby boys for a perceived risk. He'd wait and watch until the end of their first year. If anything at all seemed to point to his kids being in danger, they would leave, the boys would not visit the labs again, and he would commute to work by riding to hotland with the Riverperson. He was jolted out of his thoughts as he felt a small ball hit his head. He looked up and saw his children waving at him happily, wanting him to come play with them. He smiled slightly and threw the ball back before going over to his children. He would worry about things later. Right now, he just wanted to take care of his dear children.

* * * * * * * *

This should not have happened. This should have never happened. They were only babies, only eight months old! Who the hell would do that to an eight month old baby!? Gaster held a crying and terrified Papyrus in his arms, Sans floating near where his brother was protectively. Both Gaster and Sans were glaring at the group of scientists as they were lead away by members of the royal guard.Gaster sighed and turned back towards the lab room it had all taken place in. There were bones absolutely everywhere. Some were glowing blue and some were simply white. All of them were sharpened to a point and small, built for speed and quantity rather than damage. They were attacks meant to overwhelm and disable, to be used for defense. Gaster glanced back at the slightly older brother of the two twins who was now nuzzling the small babybones in Gaster’s arms. Sans should’ve never been able to form his magic like that. In fact, now that the danger had passed, he highly doubted the baby could even replicate just one of the small dagger-like bones he had thrown. Standard monster infants didn’t have the capability to defend and protect themselves, even in the worst of situations. It was yet another reminder about why this had happened in the first place. About why he had even considered moving in the first place. Gaster saw one of the royal guardsmen coming towards him. It was time for questioning it seemed. He was proven correct as the royal guard led the scientist with the two babies to another, more private room where he could be questioned. The royal guard told him to start at the beginning, so he did. “The traitorous trash had kept this secret plan well guarded. Very well guarded indeed. But not enough so. I discovered what they were up to earlier today, right on the day they planned to implement it…”

_Gaster walked into the labs with his babies. Today was their monthly check up day, so he figured that he could get some work done at the office while his boys got their health checks. Sans was floating along and babbling happily. An occasional word would pop into his babbling as if it simply belonged there. Sans was becoming more and more proficient at speaking everyday. As he walked in, one of the scientists asked him if he wished for him to take the babies back to Alphys. Now this colleague was one of Gaster’s long time friends from back in school. He had trusted this man with his life in the lab on more than one occasion. He trusted him implicitly. So it’s not very surprising that Gaster, having a need to get to his work quick as possible because of potential disasters, said yes and allowed the man to take Papyrus and Sans with him._

_That had been his mistake. One that he quickly realized the folly of when he reached his office later. Nobody ever asked to take the boys back. They knew how finicky he was about that and they responded by staying back. It was when Gaster remembered this that he made a call to Alphys, asking if the boys had made it back to her. When she said they did not, the panic set in and he told her to begin searching and to trust no one. He himself went searching for his missing babies when he heard it._

_There was an explosion that came from across the lab. Gaster saw the smoke and rushed towards it, fanning the smoke away from himself as it became thicker. As he reached the room, the peered inside and could not believe what he saw. His youngest son was on the exam table, crying and shaking like a leaf. He appeared to be clinging to Sans, whom Gaster couldn’t see at the moment. On the other side of the room, a decent sized group of scientists all cowered away from the table. They were surrounded by sharp, knife like bones that were embedded into the walls and some of the scientists joints. Around the scientists was a cage like structure of bones, trapping them in and ensuring they couldn’t reach the babies._

_On the table, an empty syringe sat. It had a trace of black liquid left in it and Gaster assumed they had injected it into one of the boys. He confirmed this when he quickly approached his babies and saw a small pinprick on Papyrus’ left femur. Gaster felt a cold rage burn inside himself as he placed a call to the king, requesting that he send the hotland division of royal guards immediately. There was no need to terrify the pathetic group of monsters any further. It seemed Sans had done a thorough enough job of that._

“And that’s it,” Gaster finished dejectedly. “You were called here, and nothing else happened until you made it. We are still analyzing what they injected into Papyrus, but it was a chemical that was still in the experimental development stage. So we don’t have much data on it or how it may affect a living monster.” He rested his forehead in one of his hands as a feeling of distress enveloped him. It was terrifying not knowing what might happen to his son. “We tried to have the chemical removed but it seems that Papyrus’ magic has already absorbed it.” The Royal Guard tried his best to comfort the worried father, thanking him for the information and suggesting that perhaps he’d best go home and spend a well deserved, peaceful day at home. Eventually Gaster agreed, rescheduling the appointment for tomorrow and arranging it so it could be performed in his own home. There was no way he was going to be bringing the boys back to the lab any time soon.

* * * * * * * *

Sans was feeling pretty strange that day. He didn't know what it was. Just something right outside his understanding was putting him on edge. He looked over at his still sleeping brother and moved over to him. Sans sat beside Papyrus and rubbed the top of his skull with his hand. He didn't like how today felt and decided that he'd stay close to his precious baby bro throughout it. Papyrus felt pretty great today. First thing in the day he woke up and his n was right near by, which always made him very happy. He cooed at Sans, trying to get his attention. He let out a whine when Sans stopped petting him and happily giggled when the petting resumed. Sans seemed a bit tense but that was okay. Papyrus felt that today was going to be a good day.

Today they were visited by the short yellow lady with the glasses. Papyrus liked the lady. She was nice and had never forced him and Sans to be apart again after that one time. She also never came near him with sharp things or let out a mean feeling like those other white coat people had. Sans was suspicious of white coats now, but Papyrus said that the lady was good. Papyrus hadn't been wrong yet so Sans relaxed when the lady came in. He didn't like the white coat she wore but she didn't have a darkened soul like those others did. Her striped shirt underneath the coat also added some color to her ensemble, which helped put him at ease. The stripes made her seem less threatening to him. 

Papyrus babbled happily at the pretty colors the magical scanner drifted over himself and Sans, who clung to his arm and grumbled at them. Papyrus nuzzled Sans' cheek with his own and smiled at his brother in an attempt to cheer him up. A small amount of happiness lit up Sans' eyes and permanent smile at Pap's happiness, causing Pap's entire demeanor to absolutely radiate joy. Both babies were in great moods by the time their check ups were done which was an unusual but nice change. 

Papyrus had cajoled his brother into playing with him and the two babies were now tumbling around on the ground together. They had no idea what they were doing. But they knew it was fun. Well, it was fun until Sans fell asleep mid-roll. Papyrus, thinking something was wrong with his brother, started to cry, causing Gaster to come over quickly. Gaster quickly assessed the situation and calmed down, comforting little Papyrus and picking both him and Sans up. Gaster laid Sans in the crib to sleep and then was about to set Papyrus back down on the ground to play some more but Papyrus was having none of that. He looked at Gaster with a pout and glaring yet teary eyes. He wanted to be near his brother. 

“SANS,” Papyrus said pointedly. Gaster, who was somewhat baffled at the moment, looked at the baby in confusion. Sans needed to sleep. Did Papyrus still want to play with him? 

Papyrus, seeing that Gaster wasn't getting it, waved his arms up towards the crib, like he wanted it to pick him up. “SANSSS….” Papyrus whined out petulantly. Gaster was confused as hell at this point but decided to try and just set Papyrus into the crib as well. When he was sat inside, Papyrus crawled over to Sans happily while Gaster worried he'd wake Sans up. But Papyrus simply curled up against his brother and closed his eyes, apparently going to sleep. Gaster relaxed and smiled, leaving the two napping babies and using the unexpected break to take care of some things that needed to be done. 

About a minute after Gaster left however, Papyrus' eyes opened back up again. He had tried to just fall asleep like Sans had but he couldn't. He was just too awake. However, he didn't want to leave Sans alone so he stayed curled up against the other baby. Papyrus happily nuzzled Sans' cheek, cuddling him like a stuffed toy, before he noticed the bars that made up the crib over Sans' shoulder. He spent a long time staring at the bars, his mind twisting and turning those bars into puzzles and traps and giving him entertainment as his energy simmered down and he slowly slipped off to sleep.

* * * * * * * *

Gaster yawned. He was exhausted, though he had taken off of work for such a special day. He wanted to be with his boys all day and he wanted to be there for their final monthly check up. After today, the boys would get a check up twice every year until they were five. Then, if nothing had gone wrong, they would have a check up once a year, just like any other normal monster. Besides, his babies were turning one today. They had survived for a year. It was a pretty important milestone. But it was really important for babies like Sans and Papyrus, who honestly probably shouldn’t even exist. Gaster shook his head, getting the thought of the low chances of survival his boys had of living the first year. They had beaten the odds and now it would be much easier for all of them. He could focus on them without his mind jumping to the fact that the odds made it clear they could and probably would die some day soon. They weren’t out of the danger zone yet, of course, but their chances were much, MUCH better.

He felt something pull at his pants and looked down to see Sans, floating slightly above the ground and staring at him in worry. It seemed the boy could always tell when his mind drifted towards more dangerous topics and he was always there to pull him out of the semi-depressive moods the thoughts put him in. He picked up Sans, who sat calmly in Gaster’s arms with a stillness that could put most monsters to shame. Then Gaster let out a puff of laughter as Sans suddenly made a hilariously spastic gesture at him out of nowhere. No matter how many times the saw it, he was never prepared for it. The way the child had taken to comforting him surprised him. While Papyrus was all about loving cuddles and affection to comfort someone, Sans had taken to using humor to comfort people. As he grew to talk more, he also found Sans trying to make jokes many times, though his small vocabulary and lack of understanding for most topics got in the way. Most people agreed that the attempt itself was adorable and impressive enough on it’s own. Gaster laughed more as he found his son’s attempts to cheer him up working. “Alright, alright, I understand. No more angst today,” Gaster said with light laughter. Sans calmed down, understanding that his attempts had worked and his dad was happy again. That contented him, and he pulled on Gaster’s sleeve, pointing towards the living room where his brother was playing.

Gaster walks towards the room as Sans wanted. He smiled at the small child, playing with some soft but sturdy toys on the rug. Right now, it appeared the baby had one of the chew rings in his mouth. Baby skeletons didn’t exactly experience teething like other monsters, as their teeth were already there. But they still loved to chew on things. Gaster had deemed it a very smart purchase when it became Papyrus’ favorite toy. He may love his babies but he’d really prefer there be no teeth marks on his furniture or on their own bones. There wasn’t much he could do about Sans though. He simply went through the physical toys and furniture, so he had to resort to chewing his own arm. Gaster didn’t like it but it didn’t appear to be harming the fragile baby, and he knew Sans needed something to chew in order to learn to chew properly. So he let it continue. At least he wasn’t biting Papyrus, though he occasionally found Papyrus biting Sans, who seemed to take it in stride.

Gaster looked towards the clock, seeing that it was almost time for the boy’s final appointment. They would have to do a few more things than normal, such as determining how the boy’s survival rates had changed. But it shouldn’t take long. Then he could surprise his kids with the cake he had helped Toriel prepare for them. He was also having those who had babysat his children over the year come over, which would surely please his boys. He’d noticed that they absolutely adored the children that babysat them. They were around so often that they were practically a part of the family at this point. The Queen and King were also coming over, of course, along with their infant son. As was Alphys, who was coming to perform the boy’s check up anyway. He had just convinced her to stay for a while afterwards. 

Gaster bent down to pick up his other son, Papyrus looking up at him while still chewing the ring while Sans instantly moved a bit to shift closer to his brother, cuddling him slightly. Gaster smiled a bit and walked on towards the room that Alphys had set up the equipment in, setting his boys down on the table when he got inside. Sans promptly fell flat to his stomach on the table, lazily content while Papyrus tried to crawl absolutely everywhere, completely energetic.  
Gaster amusedly watched his children and the parallels they clearly presented. He wouldn't lie and say that his two childrens different but complementary attitudes didn’t fascinate him. They fascinated both the scientific side and fatherly side of him. He could watch his children for hours, honestly, just for the amount of amusement and pure joy it gave him. He heard a knock on the door and went to go answer it after containing his children in a decently sized bubble of magic. Mainly to make sure Papyrus didn’t crawl off the table, as the boy often tried to do when placed on them.

“Ah, hello Dr. Alphys,” Gaster said with a smile to his young colleague.

“He-hello, Dr. Gaster,” Alphys replied with a flush, stuttering as usual. She would probably never get used to the much older Dr. Gaster greeting her, a mere child, as an equal. Gaster invited her in and she quickly scurried inside. They made their way to the room the boys were in, discussing possible end results and backup plans for certain events that could happen. When they reached the room, Alphys had to take a moment to just watch the adorable babies.

Papyrus had crawled back over to his lazy brother and was now whining. He had grabbed San’s arm, moving it up and down in an attempt to stir his brother and get him to play. Sans, however, stayed contentedly where he was. Papyrus pouted when he saw he wasn’t going to get his brother to move, flopping down next to him with a frown. Sans decided to move then, shifting a bit to cuddle into his frowning brother’s side and happily sighing in absolute content. Papyrus tried to keep his pout but couldn’t do so for long. Soon he was smiling happily and cuddling Sans as well, willing to stay in place for the sake of his sibling’s comfort. This thrilled Alphys. It meant she could start their final monthly testing. Plus it was just adorable.

“There’s the signal,” Alphys said happily, walking over to the machines to start them up.

“Signal?” Gaster asks curiously. He’d been there for the children's earliest appointments, and the first one at the home but he hadn’t been to most of them, preferring to keep himself away for the sake of the testing. In case he panicked.

“Yep,” Alphys said cheerfully. She was always more comfortable and confident when she was in her element. “They always do that when they’re ready to start testing. The cuddle together in the center of the table and they always remain there until i’m done. Your boys are very very smart, Gaster. Though they aren’t really capable of expressing it quite yet.” She moves to start another machine and looks over at the babies. “This may take longer than usual so stay still until I say we're done, okay?” Gaster is about to say there's no way either baby understood when he sees Sans give the scientist a small, barely perceivable nod. Seems like Sans did understand to a certain degree at least.

“Alright, Gaster, keep an eye on the machine readings,” Alphys said as she approached the table the boys were on. “I have to concentrate on what I’m doing.” Gaster agreed, watching the machines closely. But when the saw a few flashes of color from the corner of his eyes, he couldn't help but take a glance.

He'd seen diagnosis magic cast before. He'd even used it himself once, though he admitted it was something best left to the medical doctors. But he'd never seen anything like what Alphys did.

Unlike with most diagnoses practices, the boy's souls were out in the open and both clearly visible, which would typically alarm any monster on an instinctual level. However, the babies seemed content with this, completely comfortable in the other Doctor’s presence. They both simply babbled happily at the glowing, colorful trails of magic that gently surrounded their souls.

When finished with their readings, the colorful strands of magic would then break off from the group of colors and feed itself into one of the machines he was looking after. Such subtle control and understanding of this type of scientific magic was amazingly advanced for most monsters, let alone a child. 

Alphys was a natural at it, however, and he immediately knew he'd been right in taking her on as an intern, dispite her young age. He also realized she was just the monster to delegate such an important and delicate task to.

After about fifteen minutes, all of the strands of magic, one for each color of the rainbow, a black one, and a white one, had returned to the machine. Alphys put the boy’s souls back where they belonged before putting up a bubble around the boys so they could play without falling off the table. She walked back to the machines Gaster was watching, looking satisfied with how they were running.

“Alright. The machines should be done with the data sorting in a minute,” she said. “Then we can see what's what.”

“I was not aware that you were capable of performing such magic so easily,” Gaster said casually. The scales on Alphys’ cheeks went red at the praise.

“O-oh, y-you were w-wa-watching?” She managed to stutter out. She'd never been the best at taking compliments. She'd always go red as a cherry and stutter helplessly, like she was doing now. “T-t-that was… n-nothing really. Hehhehheh. Ummm… just science magic, y-you know.”

“That was the most advanced performance of diagnosis magic I'd ever seen,” Gaster stated plainly. He didn't understand how she could brush off such an amazing show of magic as nothing. Perhaps it was because it was normal for her? Just how long has she been able to perform magic like that? “I must admit I'm curious about how and where you learned such an ability.”

“Um… I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind…” Alphys replied, trailing off. Gaster recognized the look on her face. He'd seen it often enough on other monsters, as well as himself. It was the look of someone who had important and personal secrets to keep. Gaster decided to leave it at that. If Alphys wanted to keep secrets, who was he to pry? 

The nmachine saved him from having to change the subject himself, beeping to notify them that it was done as the screen lit up with the newly sorted data. 

Alphys brightened up and went over to the screen. She was expecting good results based on the earlier signals her magic, and she wasn't disappointed.  
“I was expecting some good results but they're doing much better than I had anticipated,”Alphys said as she scoured the data. “That substance that was injected into Papyrus doesn't seem to be affecting him at all, their vitals are wonderful, Sans’ state isn't causing him any complications… As long as they continue to stick together as they have been, so their magic can supplement each other, they'll continue to develop exactly like monster children should.” 

“Are there any indications of their natural talents yet?” Gaster asked curiously.

“A few,” Alphys said, looking back through the data. “Don't be surprised if Sans naturally has a deeper grasp of specialized magic and intellectual fields than Papyrus in the future. Papyrus, meanwhile, will probably be the stronger of the two in both physical fitness and combat magic. Sans will be textbook smart while Papyrus’ intelligence will be geared more towards patterns and puzzles. Sans will probably be able to dance, tell jokes, and play an instrument while Papyrus should be able to draw really well and will have a loud, impressionable personality that draws others in. Sans will also likely be most advanced in strategy while Papyrus will be most advanced with combat magic control.”

“Their magic is already indicating so much, Gaster asked in surprise. Alphys nodded.

“They're both very in tune with their magic which is very likely do to Sans’ near constant use of it,” Alphys replied. “It's not just a tool for them like it is for most of us. It's a necessity. That's why I wanted to run tests on them so often in the first place.”

“What would happen if they were ever to lose their magic,” Gaster asks seriously.

“It… it'd be quite the grave circumstance. I think you know why,” Alphys replied. Both scientists heard a pop and a giggle behind the and turned to look at the sudden disruption to their serious conversation. Sans was creating little cyan bubbles while Papyrus was happily giggling away. A few of his own orange bubbles floated up to meet the cyan ones but mostly Papyrus was just popping them with obvious amusement while Sans sat on and watched contentedly as the shield quickly filled up with bubbles.

“Papyrus was probably getting restless,” Alphys said with a laugh. “We can continue this later. I think the two birthday boys are sick of the table.”  
When the shield was released, all of the bubbles came flying out, Papyrus happily laughing and reaching up for them adorably while Sans simply watched them float away and pop. Gaster laughed and made his way over, Papyrus happily lifting his arms towards him as he wanted to be picked up. Sans lazily did so as well, his arms simply flipping up briefly and then back down, as if holding them up was too much effort.

“You lazybones,” Gaster muttered with a soft smile to Sans as he picked him up. Then he picked up the more energetic Papyrus, cuddling the small baby who happily cooed back.

* * * * * * * *

The modest little party was going great. Asgore was supervising the children while all of them played together and he was clearly enjoying it. Meanwhile, Toriel and Gaster were in the kitchen. Toriel was making food, probably more than they needed but nobody would complain. The entire monster kingdom absolutely loved Toriel’s cooking. Gaster was talking to the other adults there, the parents he had become friends with through having their children work for him, Alphys at the lab and the others as babysitters. Gaster looked out towards where all the children were playing and smiled a bit.

“It's nice to see them simply being kids for once,” he said, not speaking to anyone specifically.

“Yeah it is,” Charles’ father Leo replied cheerfully. 

“It's certainly not something we see everyday,” Muffet’s mom, Maple, continues. “Honestly, with the way my dear Muffet usually is, it's like she's a mini adult.”

“I see that kind of maturity too often in my own kid,” Henry's father Jacob says with a huff. “It's not that I'm not proud of him and the other kids in their generation stepping up when they're needed, but they just don't get to be kids often enough, ya know?”

“I agree,” Alphys’ mother Aliena replies, her husband Jamaal nodding in agreement as well. “I know there's really nothing that can be done to help it, after what's happened, but…”

“...you just wish it wasn't necessary?” Grillby's mother, Nyssa asked her empathetically. A sound of agreement came from those around the table, including Gaster himself. All of them agreed that the pressures being put on the current generation of young monsters was unfair. But it wasn't something that any of them could help and the youngsters were really doing a good job with the resources they had.

“Rebuilding society is a difficult task,” Gaster said. “Both the old and young generation need to pull their weight and the young ones are doing spectacularly…” Gaster let out a sigh. “I just wish I could say the same for the majority of the older generation as well. A few examples of exemplary work from them come to mind, and the parents are clearly doing wonderfully, if the progress of the younger generation is any indication. But…”  
“Many older monsters have been found to be poor examples, yes?” Toriel asked, walking over and setting down the cakes and pies she had baked to cool. “It is quite troubling, the way things have gone with them. Most of our royal council is a fine example of uselessness and greed, I have to say.”  
Toriel then chuckled. “But enough of this serious talk. Today is a day to celebrate, not a day to question the state of society.” She went to the pantry and returned with a large number of sweets and icing with which to decorate the sweets. She had to suppress laughter when she saw the adults all staring at the pile of sweets with a childlike awe. She had found out a few weeks earlier that this particular group of adults had an extreme weakness for sweets, something else that the small group of mostly single parents had bonded over. “Now, I'd like to ask you to decorate these deserts,” Toriel said with amusement in her voice. “Don't eat any of them alright? I'm going to go and see the children. Play nice.” 

She then left the room as quickly as possible. She knew things were about to devolve into pure chaos, which she found hilarious. But she knew she could trust them to get things done, no matter how messy the room ended up after. When she reached the living room, she was surprised to see it had temporarily been enlarged with magic and contained some sort of elaborate set up for a game. 

Asgore seemed to be quite tied up at the moment. In fact he was at the other end of the room, tied up in orange, glowing ropes like a prisoner. Alphys, Grillby, Muffet, Charles, and Papyrus appeared to be the ones keeping him prisoner in their little game, standing in the second floor balcony and observing the action with interest. Meanwhile Sans, Henry, Mettaton, Asriel, Napstablook, and a young fish girl named Undyne, whom herself and Asgore had brought along with them, appeared to be trying to rescue him. 

It seemed the rescuers were currently losing. The traps and puzzles surrounding the captured king were impressively effective. Some were complex, most of them simple. But their placement made them ruthlessly effective and, to the Queen's pleasure, they were all safe, designed to deter and capture rather than harm. In fact, the only ones on the team of rescuers currently not captured in soft, magically sealed cushions or silk nets were baby Sans and Undyne, who were both on the other side of the room from Asgore and the others. 

She looked across the room and saw her little baby happily wave his arms at her, him and Henry both contained in a child friendly blow up cage. They had gotten the closest to reaching Asgore. She waved at her child and sat down in a safe couch near Asgore but out of the way of the currently on going game.

“So who's idea was this?” Toriel asked Asgore with amusement.

“Mine, actually,” the king replied cheerfully. “After all, the party did cut into Undyne’s one on one training session with me. I thought this would be a good way to both train her in strategic combat application and entertain the other children at the same time.” He grinned with excitement.  
“What I did not expect was this level of challenge to be created by children.” He tilted his head towards the team of children on the second floor balcony, who looked upon their difficult challenge and the other team with enjoyment. “Little Papyrus has a natural talent in puzzle design, it seems. Though of course he does have trouble communicating his ideas and setting them up. It appears that the other children can understand him well enough though. They built this entire set up with their magic, under the direction of little Papyrus.”

Then he indicated Sans and Undyne. “As for those two, they have been working together to direct their team. I was surprised when Undyne said the baby was going to help her plan things, but it's paying off. Look closely at the field, my wife, and think for a moment. It may appear that they are losing but look closer.” The Queen did so with interest.

It was clear some of the traps represented lethal traps and others represented capturing traps. She noticed that there was always a way around the traps that represented death inducing traps, but that some of the traps that were captured traps had no way around. It would be required to have had someone already set off the trap in order to get past. 

And that had been exactly what Sans and Undyne had done. Their teammates were spread out strategically around the board. There was one more capture trap in their way. If one more of them was captured, they'd have a clear path to the king. It was clear they would will, and Toriel could tell the other team knew that too. They and their captives seemed to be curiously waiting for something though. Toriel thought for a moment and then realized what they were waiting for.

“It's become a moral choice now, right?” Toriel asked. Asgore nodded.

“Yes. Undyne was unanimously declared leader of the rescue team. The children on both teams decided to use their age differences to represent different age groups. The older children represent adults in the team while the one toddler and the babies represent children.  
The choice Undyne makes here is a huge indicator of the type of leader she is. Will she have the child on her team captured so that a more physically abled person who can bypass the tripped traps easier can reach me? Or will she sacrifice herself over her last teammate, trusting them to get the job done, though they're less physically dependable? 

There's no wrong choice here. There are pros and cons to each decision. What decision she makes will simply bring aspects of her character into clearer focus.” Asgore perks up as Undyne sets Sans down on the ground. “It appears she's made a decision. Let's watch.” Toriel watched the two children on the other side of the room with interest.

Undyne stood up after placing the baby down, turning towards the entrance to the maze of traps. She glanced down at the outline of the child that she could see. “Welp punk. I'm leaving it to you. Don't let me down, you hear?” She asked with a wide grin, setting off into the maze in a sprint after Sans had given her a small nod and simple 'ok’.

“Ah, as I had expected,” Asgore said, seemingly proud. “The safety of her team perceeds over her own in her mind. She will make a brilliant captain in the future.”

Undyne sprinted through the maze, her teammates cheering her on and letting out awed gasps and cheers when ever she evaded a potently placed trap with ease or vaulted over the already activated traps. She'd decided that since she was going to be captured anyway, she might as well show these punks what she could do. She felt a wave of satisfaction when she reached her goal and was captured, seeing the impressed looks she got from both teams. She was really happy that she'd even managed to impress the youngest ones. Tiny monster children were really difficult to impress, after all.  
“Alright, punk! It's your turn,” Undyne yelled over the field to Sans. It was clear to the two adults that the baby’s teammates were completely convinced that the baby was capable of making it. Toriel was skeptical herself though she was curious about what inspired which confidence within these children. There was his magic, of course, but the children surely limited his use of it to prevent him from cheating. 

This was made apparent when the small outline of the baby crawled through the entrance rather than floated through it. Toriel was surprised by the baby's aptitude for strategy and execution. The child never once used his magic to float or phase through the obstacles. Yet he got over every one of them that came his way. 

He'd crawl over or under obstacles and when he couldn't scale, he'd find a way around. When he came to a trap he needed to jump over, he used his tiny size and light weight to his advantage, climbing on the top of the walls on either side which would've never supported the weight of one of the older kids. 

The baby was slow in his approach. He could only crawl as of yet. But he was steady, his movement forward never stopping, transitioning smoothly from one challenge into the next. When the child got to where her and Asgore were and was crawling towards them. The queen was thoroughly impressed, as were the other children. Sans crawled over to Asgore, bumping his leg with his head. The ropes unraveled themselves and all of the previously taken prisoners were simultaneously released as they cheered. 

Toriel took a look at the time and was surprised to see a half an hour had already passed. She'd left the sugar crazy adults with the sweets unsupervised for an entire half an hour.

“Oh I hope there are sweets left to eat,” Toriel said to herself. Of course though, the other children heard it. 

“You left out parents alone with the desserts?” Grillby asked in surprise. The children then all ran towards the kitchen to check on their sugar addict, wayward parents. As each child reached the doorway, a few of them carrying babies, the felt themselves struggle to hold in laughter. The entire kitchen, and their parents themselves, were messes. It looked like they'd gotten in a food fight using the icing, marshmallows and sprinkles. But in the middle of the mess was a group of immaculately dressed pies, cookies, and a perfectly iced cake.

“How did you even manage that,” Muffet asked the messy adults bluntly. Toriel peeked in and couldn't contain herself, laughing happily.

“Oh dear… Looks like you all will need to wash up,” she chuckled out.

“But I didn't bring any extra clothing,” Maple moaned out. The other visiting adults all sheepishly admitted the same thing. 

“U-um mom…?” Alphys stuttered out. She then pointed towards a couple of stacked up duffle bags in the living room on another couch. “W-we kind of prepared for this.” The parents gave somewhat sheepish thank yous to their kids, shuffling out of the room a bit do they could grab the bags their kids had brought. 

Once the parents had all left upstairs to wait and clean themselves off, the children and Toriel looked at the mess exasperatedly. While the adults would be willing to clean it up, they needed the room clean now. So the kids left the babies and toddler with Asgore and helped Toriel clean up the room. By the time the adults had all made it back down, the room was sparkling clean, just in time for the group to eat.  
From that point onwards, the party went smoothly, everyone enjoying the time spent together. Apparently, they also enjoyed spoiling the birthday babies with gifts. By the end of it, Gaster had more noise making, colorful and flashing toys than he knew what to do with. The babies loved every bit of it, both of them taking great joy in the colors and noises and lights. It was very adorable. As they celebrated Sans and Papyrus’ first year alive, Gaster was aware that there were more challenges and trials yet to come. But he looked forward to them, happy that he had the chance to raise the two children he had created.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the infant years are done, we can move on to some more interesting times. As cute as babies are, they are very hard to write. XD


End file.
